Closer
by s' old fic
Summary: A series of YukiTohru vignettes. More waff than plot.
1. Train

Closer 

A series of Fruits Basket vignettes by Sakura 

Standard disclaimers apply.

The following are [1] occasionally Yuki-centric, occasionally Tohru-centric, but hopefully more Yukiru-centric than anything else; [2] written without canon in mind; [3] maybe not for the glucose intolerant.  More notes later.

For Mona-san.

01.  Train

      It was a little past midnight, and the last train of the day was a yellow streak in the dark, merrily making its way through town.  Its cars were nearly empty save for some couples snuggled in window seats, weary salarymen snoring away under their hats --- and in one particular car, a girl and a boy standing rather stiffly by the window.

      There was nothing out of the ordinary about the two; they looked like any other teenage couple on their way home.  But if one looked closely, the boy appeared to be studying the scenery outside the window with unusually intense fascination, while the girl sighed from time to time and occasionally stared down at her feet.

      The boy, you see, was not supposed to be on the train in the first place.

      "Shigure-san will kill me," the girl moaned.  In her distress she would have raised hands to cover her face, but she was holding on to the pole to keep her balance and would rather die than let go.  "Shigure-san told me he didn't mind us arriving late, just as long as we stayed away from the train---"

      The boy was staring at the sky.

      "A real crowded, packed-with-females-of-all-ages-and-sizes train." The girl sighed again.  "And I said yes, of course, and now here we are, on a _train_, at _my_ suggestion---"  

      The boy's eyes softened as he spoke.  "Don't worry about it too much, Honda-san.  It'll take us too long to get home if we walked."

      "B-But…"

      "Shigure won't know if we don't tell him anything, right?"

      "Yuki-kun," the girl's brown eyes were wide with worry, "Shigure-san sniffs things out!"

      The boy grinned, but the girl was too distraught to share his amusement.  "One time he asked me where you kept sneaking off to before dinner, and I did my best to _not_ tell him you were at the secret base taking care of the vegetables, but somehow he managed to get that out of me and now your secret base isn't secret anymore!"

      "I told you, that's all right."

      "And another time he managed to make me tell him what his birthday present was before we were even about to go out and buy it!"

      "Honda-san…"

      "And what about the time he---"

      "Honda-san."  The boy reached out to close fingers around the girl's slender wrist to calm her down, and she instantly colored and sputtered into silence.  

      The train entered a tunnel, engulfing them in shadow.  The fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered as the boy finally sighed and shifted his hold on the girl's wrist, letting it fall a little so his thumb now grazed the inside of her palm.  "I like the train, I think."

      The girl blinked.  

      In their reflection in the train window, the boy's gaze met the girl's own.  "I've never been on one before."

      The girl's eyes widened.

       "And I probably won't be able to ride again for a while.  Maybe never."  His tone turned a bit wistful.  "But I'm glad I was able to find out what it's like, just this once."

      Whoosh, went the train, emerging from the dusky tunnel.  The pale slip of a moon finally appeared in the sky, but neither the boy nor the girl looked up at it.  They were staring at each other in the window --- he slightly red-faced after his confession, and she looking surprised, then thoughtful, then determined.

      "Let's ride again, then."

      "---Eh?"

      "We'll take the train again."  Slowly, her fingers laced with his.  "We'll take the train as often as you want, Yuki-kun."

      The boy watched her for a while, then finally bowed his head in shy acquiescence.  "…Un."

      "However," the worried look returned to the girl's face, "if Shigure-san finds out, he'll be really really _really_ angry with me, so we'll have to be very careful."

The boy's eyes shone with gratitude, even though she had given him nothing but the prospect of future train rides --- something trivial, something most people would not look forward to, but something real.  A step closer to that world of normal, everyday people.  His family would probably think him reckless --- and he _was_ probably being very foolish about it, but she made him a promise.

And it was everything.  

He gave her hand a little squeeze and she returned the favor, and they both smiled at their reflection in the glass.    

[ 01 - O.Wa.Ri. ]


	2. Shopping

Closer 

A series of Fruits Basket vignettes by Sakura 

Standard disclaimers apply.

The following are [1] occasionally Yuki-centric, occasionally Tohru-centric, but hopefully more Yukiru-centric than anything else (?); [2] written without canon in mind; [3] maybe not for the glucose intolerant.  More notes later.

02.  Shopping

      There were some things Tohru knew she wasn't supposed to do, like crossing the street without looking both ways, or putting too much water with the rice, or staring at people's faces.

      Especially staring at people's faces.

      But as she stood at the counter in the supermarket and stuffed the purchases into plastic bags, she found herself watching Yuki out of the corner of her eye.     

      He was leaning against the counter, staring at the change he cupped in his hand.  The afternoon sun glinted off his hair, turning it shades lighter than it usually was.  Tohru idly wondered what color it ought to be called.  Lavender?  But it seemed much more glossy than lavender.  She leaned her head to one side and mulled it over.  Amethyst, then?  But amethyst seemed a wrong color for hair...  

Under her scrutiny, his brows knit ever so slightly.  "Honda-san."

      "Y-Yes!"  It came out as a squeak.  Tohru quickly ducked her head, hoping he wouldn't notice the guilty flush that flooded her face.  "What is it?"  

      "Shigure gave us the same amount as always, right?"

      Tohru blinked.  "Yes, he did."  

      "And we got everything on the list?"

      "Yes."  

      "And we didn't forget anything?"

A note of worry crept into her voice.  "Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing."  He was still frowning at the change in his hand.  "Nothing, really.  It's just strange that we have more money left over this time."

Tohru brightened up.  "That's because we got all the meat on sale today.  This supermarket sells chicken and pork at half the price on Wednesdays."     

      "Ah."  He finally looked up and smiled at her.  "That's right, I forgot."  The sun shone more fully on him as he angled his face toward her, and tendrils of purple hair against the side of his face turned lighter and lighter and lighter, until they were--- 

      Anything but lavender.  

      "Honda-san."  He was still looking at her.

      "Y-Y-Yes!"  Her face burned again, more deeply this time.  

"Let's get ourselves a treat."

      There was a beat.  "I'm sorry?" 

"A treat."  He lifted the bags off the counter with one hand and, as if he weren't carrying anything, casually walked over to the nearby freezer.  Tohru was momentarily startled by the ease with which he moved, but finally remembered to catch up with him.  

"We can't buy ice cream, Yuki-kun, it's not in the budget---"

"Shigure won't notice anything."  He gave her an uncharacteristically impish grin, and the coins jiggled merrily in his hand.  "What would you like, Honda-san?"

"But---"

"Chocolate?"

"We can't---"

"Strawberry?"

"Ah, that would be ni---  NO!  No, what I mean to say is---"

"There's a box in the corner."

"---Where?"  

      It was too late; the gleam in his eyes told her that she had fallen into his trap, and there was nothing else to do but reach inside the freezer for the treat.  She shot him a look of what she hoped was exasperation, but he only grinned at her and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.  "This'll be our little secret, all right?"  

His sudden closeness made her face heat up again, but it gave her the chance to study his fringe more closely.

Lilac, with flecks of gold.  

Her lips lifted, triumphantly.  "All right."

[ 02 - O.Wa.Ri. ]


	3. Summer

Closer 

A series of Fruits Basket vignettes by Sakura 

Standard disclaimers apply.

The following are [1] occasionally Yuki-centric, occasionally Tohru-centric, but hopefully more Yukiru-centric than anything else (?); [2] written without canon in mind; [3] maybe not for the glucose intolerant.  More notes later.

NOTE:  This came out of nowhere; think of it as an extra act.  

 For Belle-nee, whose package made me sparkle. XD

 A bit lemon-scented.

02.5  Summer

Yuki kept his eyes closed even as he felt the sheets slowly shift underneath him, smoothly sliding against his skin like water. At first he wondered if he was having another one of his crazy dreams, but eventually realized it was just Tohru, who had gotten up and was now trying to get the bed into some semblance of order without rousing him from his nap. Through the haze in his mind, he heard her mumble as she worked: _oh no it's two in the afternoon maybe I ought to call the nearby soba-ya for lunch I wonder what Yuki-kun would like_... 

There came the soft patter of feet, the rustle of fabric, then the creaking of windows being opened. The afternoon breeze stole into the room, past the drawn back curtains. It felt cool on his flushed skin. Yuki shifted to lie on his side, burying his face in the pillow. 

It smelled like her.

There came the footsteps again, pausing every now and then as Tohru tsked and sighed. She was probably picking up the articles of clothing they had so impatiently struggled out of, carelessly tossed onto the floor --- trousers, socks, underwear, polo shirt, cotton dress... That pretty yellow cotton dress that made her skin glow. To him it seemed like it had a thousand buttons and it frustrated him every time he had to take it off her, but then she would take his hand and guide his fingers in unfastening each button, all the while watching him with darkened eyes.

It was enough to undo him.

The pillow shifted gently underneath his head. "Yuki-kun? Yuki-kun, wake up." 

"Mmmmm."

"We have to eat lunch."

"Mmmmm."

The cushion squeaked and shifted as she got back into bed with him. "Yuki-kun."

"Five minutes," came his muffled reply.

"One minute." 

"Three."

"One." Her tone was stern. 

He turned around to lie on his back and found her leaning over him, brown hair drifting past her bare shoulders like a waterfall. "One minute," she said again, firmly.

Gazing up at her, he smiled. 

And it worked. Dropping the angry act and letting her expression soften, she bent down to brush lips against his forehead, and she looked so lovely, so charming, that he just had to draw her to him and kiss her properly. Her mouth was warm and sweet, and her hair felt like silk against his skin.

He will never get enough of her.

Never.

"Lunch?" She half-whispered, half-sighed as he lingered on the sensitive spot on her throat. "Lunch, Yuki-kun?" 

"Lunch," he murmured against her skin, "and dinner, and breakfast the day after."

She flushed deeply at his words, but when he pulled her down with him, she let herself be led, and very willingly so. 

[ 02.5 - O.Wa.Ri. ]


End file.
